原文作者： Danny Nelson
原文来源： ConinDesk
原文标题：Trump’s Pro-Crypto Bluster at NFT Gala Lacked Policy Substance
编译：猫弟，BlockBeats
At Wednesday's dinner, Donald Trump appealed to a group of voters that Joe Biden completely ignored. But the presidential candidate isn't really well-versed in cryptocurrency policy.
During his first time in the White House, Donald Trump was not a fan of cryptocurrency; He had tweeted that the currencies "came out of nowhere." Later, he sold millions of dollars worth of NFTs. This week, he reinvented himself as the go-to candidate in the crypto space.
"If you support cryptocurrency, you're going to vote for Trump because they want to end it," he said Wednesday at Mar-a-Lago, referring to Democrats and President Joe Biden. He also pledged to ensure that his campaign would accept cryptocurrency donations.
The 77-year-old candidate's apparent shift in popularity came as no surprise to his 200 supporters. Many people bought $10,000 worth of Trump Trading Card NFTs to attend this bizarre, muggy outdoor reception at the former president's Florida palace. A CoinDesk reporter was also present as an escort at the event.
For nearly an hour, Mr. Trump answered questions from a crowd of sweaty men in suits. Only a few issues focused on cryptocurrency, which was a nominal theme of the entire event, but was actually a very niche issue.
But that's enough to make a few things clear:
1. Trump is not an expert on cryptocurrency.
2. Trump is an expert in selling cryptocurrency.
3. The first two points are not important, because Trump has already declared himself a defender of cryptocurrency.
Point 1 and point 3 are highlighted in one exchange (we'll talk about point 2 later). When asked what he thought of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and "government blockchains," both of which are often opposed by crypto proponents, Trump responded, "I think it all has its place." He continued, "We have some incredible things going on, I mean, looking back at cryptocurrency a few years ago, people said it wasn't going to work out, but now it's in record numbers. I guess you could say it's a form of money, and I think I'm for this, and I'm more and more for this."
For single-issue voters in the industry (who may be small), the substance of Trump's support for cryptocurrencies may not matter, but the important thing is that he has made positive statements about it. Trump appears to be the first presidential candidate of a major political party to embrace cryptocurrency.
Shelling Biden
On the opposite side of the campaign, we see an openly hostile presidential administration. Joe Biden's SEC chairman, Gary Gensler, is initiating legal action against multiple aspects of the cryptocurrency industry. And early Wednesday, hours before his opponent (Trump) held a golf resort dinner, the president promised to block an attempt by the House of Representatives to repeal a cryptocurrency accounting rule that, according to political opponents, has stifled the industry.
"Biden doesn't even know what it is. If you ask Biden, 'Sir, are you for or against cryptocurrency?' He'd say, 'What's that? Let me get off the stage.'" He didn't know," Mr. Trump said. Regardless of whether this plausible assumption is true or not, Trump went on to attack Gensler, an official who is well-versed in cryptocurrency.
"What I'm saying is: I'm okay with this, I want to make sure it's good, solid and everything else, but I'm okay with that," Trump said of cryptocurrency. He later said, "If we're going to have what we have now, then we're going to have to accept a lot of things that not everyone likes."
Hours before Trump's impromptu Q&A, Biden's campaign blasted "people who have been tricked into spending up to $10,000 on a simple digital picture of him" in an email to supporters. The email slammed Trump for not campaigning during the midweek recess and instead hosting a gorgeous NFT dinner.
But Trump did run on Wednesday night. He's campaigning for votes from the unusually noisy crypto crowd that Biden has completely ignored. Of course, only a few hundred people heard him speak with their own ears. The video of Trump's support for crypto has sparked heated discussions on social media and sparked a flood of media coverage of crypto's self-proclaimed political advocates.
"There are 50 million crypto holders in the United States. That's a lot of voters," Ryan Selkis, CEO of crypto data platform Messari, claimed in a crowded ballroom at Mar-a-Lago, where VIPs (those who bought $10,000 NFTs) mingled with dinner attendees (those who paid $4,700). Trump unexpectedly called Selkis to power.
The sound footage that came out of Wednesday's NFT feast could further polarize the cryptocurrency, tying it to the "us vs. them" battle that plagues U.S. politics. Bitcoin's liberal roots barely resonate today; Cryptocurrencies have supporters in both parties.
The most influential voices in Republican politics ignore the bipartisan reality of cryptocurrency, asserting that the Democrats want to stifle it. "Democrats are very much against it," Trump said, hours after 21 of the 213 Democrats in the House voted to repeal the SEC's accounting rules.
Trump has positioned himself as the industry's only hope. His knowledge of industry issues is sporadic. When asked how he would change the hostile U.S. policy of expelling crypto businesses from the country, he said, "We're going to stop it because I don't want that, I don't want that." I hope that if we're going to embrace it, then we have to let them stay here."
"We're making NFTs hot again"
Trump has shown more or less expertise in one area of cryptocurrency: his NFTs. Three sets of Trump NFTs — digital trading cards depicting Super Donald in different states of patriotism — have generated millions of dollars in sales. Wednesday's dinner celebrated the purchase of the third collection of his "Mugshot Edition".
Referring to his trading cards, Trump said, "We did that when NFTs weren't hot, we made NFTs hot again." He added that some NFT buyers have made tens of thousands of dollars on the resale market.
One attendee asked him if he would sell the fourth series of NFTs, and the veteran businessman expressed hesitation. "I believe in supply and demand. As you know, 1 is doing well, 2 is doing well, and 3 is also doing well. Maybe at some point, this will be reversed."
He voted on the audience: How many Mugshot bigwigs want the NFT collection of the fourth collection? Most people raised their hands. Trump sounded confused: "Isn't it possible to keep the price of what you've already bought lower, based on supply and demand?" He tested their resolve. "Who wouldn't want to see a fourth set for that reason?" Only a few hands were raised.
"Well, there are a couple of economists," Mr. Trump said amid laughter from the crowd.